The present invention relates generally to medical devices, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for remotely monitoring physiological signals for a patient.
Managed health care providers are redefining the practice of medicine in this country. Managed health care providers continually search for means to cut costs while maintaining patient services. One example of cost consciousness is found in the growth of outpatient surgery services presently offered. Certain surgery services are being offered today on an outpatient basis that would have ordinarily resulted in a two or three day hospital stay just a few years ago. Since the services are classified as outpatient, the providers save money on hospital expenses.
For various reasons including advances in the medical arts and the prevalence of managed care, a growing trend has emerged to accelerate the discharge of patients from a hospital when the services provided are on an inpatient basis. As such, care givers and managed health care providers alike are increasingly looking for methods which facilitate the early release of patients with out jeopardizing patient care.
Certain health care events require monitoring of one or more patient physiological signals. For example, patients vital signs are monitored in a recovery room after inpatient surgery procedures. Typically, vital signs for a plurality of patients are maintained by a central station, with each patient separately "wired" into the system. While these systems are beneficial to monitor the patient's recovery, the systems are costly and are not readily portable.
When a patient is "out of danger", he or she can be moved back to a room or ward. There, once again, various vital signs of the patient may be monitored by a second central system responsible for maintaining information for each patient in a room, a ward or other grouping of patients. These second type monitoring systems typically do not monitor as many physiological signals, since in most cases the patient is perceived to be out of significant danger. While this may reduce some costs, again this type of monitoring system is typically costly and not readily portable.